In automotive garages, waste oil is routinely removed from automobile crankcases and transferred to a waste oil drain assembly which normally includes a funnel to catch the oil connected to a drum. After the drum is filled, the oil or other liquid contained in the drum must eventually be transferred to another container. Thus, a variety of fluid pumps or devices having transfer means for fluids are known. These pumps or devices include pumping systems that have a variety of different operating mechanisms and connecting pieces that may be used to transfer fluid, such as the hazardous waste materials accumulated in automotive garages, from one container to another. For example, Wemple U.S. Pat. No. 1,851,338 and Hill U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,862 illustrate devices that transfer fluid from a large drum to another container by use of a pump. However, these devices each require contact with the liquid during its removal and transfer from one container to the other.
Other fluid transfer apparatus' include devices that require dismantling of the drum prior to fluid transfer or that further involve numerous component parts that elevate the manufacturing cost due to their relatively complex construction. However, along with these structural shortcomings, there are additional problems associated with their use, including a time-consuming and difficult assembly and operating process, all at elevated operational expense. Moreover, the combination of environmental concerns and the risks involved in handling certain fluids, such as hazardous and flammable materials, has induced the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety Health Administration to create and enact stringent regulations that control the handling and disposal of liquid wastes, including those wastes found in automotive garages.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste from drums or other containers to EPA and OSHA approved holding tanks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste that includes an apparatus having a pump assembly that is accessibly mounted to the wall of a garage or other structure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste that includes a pump assembly that may be mounted to the interior of any automotive garage or other structure and which may be attached to any standard holding tank.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste including a wall-mounted pump assembly elevated above a holding tank so that the liquid moves by gravity to the holding tank and minimal effort is required to transfer the liquid.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste in which there is no contact with the liquid being transferred by the operator of the apparatus.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste in which the risk of a fire involving a flammable liquid is minimal.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste from a drum wherein the liquid may be transferred to the holding tank without removal of the drum lid.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste wherein the apparatus has space-saving capabilities in that the pump assembly is wall mounted and is attached to a holding tank that is preferably located outside of the building housing the pump assembly.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for evacuating and transferring liquid waste that provides a fast and inexpensive method of liquid transfer from one container to another.